Communication networks, such as mesh networks, are used to connect a variety of different devices. For example, mesh networks have been employed in the utility industry to connect utility meters, cellular relays, transformers, and/or other nodes. The nodes in the mesh network are typically able to receive data from neighboring nodes and to relay or propagate messages to other neighbor nodes.
In traditional wired networks, routing metrics may be used which route messages based on a fewest number of hops between a source and a destination. In a mesh network, however, a data rate between nodes may vary substantially from one link to another. This variation in data rate may be due, at least in part, to the fact that mesh networks often contain multiple different generations of nodes having different characteristics and capabilities. For example, different generations of nodes may employ or be capable of employing different communication medias, different modulation techniques and operate at different or variable data rates. This may be particularly true for utility mesh networks in which nodes are placed into service gradually over time and are expected to remain in the field for relatively long life cycles (e.g., 20 years or more). Generally, newer generations of nodes are capable of additional modulations and higher data rates than older generations of nodes. Therefore, as newer generations or various models of nodes are deployed with the mesh network, there may be incompatibility issues that prevent some nodes from communicating with each other.